1. Structural Analysis:
Inflections –ed & -ing

2. Read the following word:
scratching
How many syllables are in this word? Where should it be divided?
scratch/ing has 2 syllables
The first syllable scratch is the root word. The root word is the part of the word that contains the meaning.
The second syllable is the inflection, ing. An inflection is added to the end of a root word and changes the form of the word.

3. Read this word:
cooked
What is the root word? What is the inflection? How many syllables are in cooked? Careful!!! Remember that every syllable must have a vowel sound (not just a vowel!!)
It just has one syllable.
The root word is cook and the inflection is ed.
When ed is added to the end of a word it can sound like /d/ or /t/ - in which case, it is not a separate syllable, but ed can also sound like /ed/ as in the word chatted (chat/ted), in which case it is a separate syllable.

4. Try these. Break the following words into syllables.
Decide how many syllables are in the word and then read the word.
Identify the root word and the base word.

5. Bonus: Is block an open or closed syllable? How do you know?
blocking
block/ing-2 syllables
Base word= block
Inflection= ing
Bonus: Is block an open or closed syllable? How do you know?

6. overlooked o/ver/looked- 3 syllables Base word = overlook
Inflection= ed
Is the first syllable open or closed?

7. surrounded sur/round/ed- 3 syllables
Notice that ed is a separate syllable in this word because it makes a vowel sound.
Base word= surround
Inflection= ed

8. Look in the story, “Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain
Look in the story, “Kai’s Journey to Gold Mountain.” Find five more words with the –ed or –ing ending. List the words, pronounce them, and sort them by the number of syllables.